This application priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7 119 and/or 120 to:
Australian Patent Application No. PR3644 filed Mar. 9, 2001.
The present invention is directed to the field of plastic moulded garment hangers. It has particular application to garment hangers designed to carry lingerie and other delicate or lightweight items of clothing, but is also applicable for use with heavier items such as shorts, trousers, T-shirts etc.
Garment hangers are used to hang clothing, and are commonly made in moulded form of plastic materials. Lingerie hangers in particular are often made of polystyrene material, which has the advantage that it can be manufactured clear in colour and is very lightweight, but such hangers are generally relatively brittle so can be subject to breakage when undue force is applied to them.
Some garment hangers involve a simple one-piece moulded construction, while others may involve multiple pieces connected together for the purposes of modular identification or to form complex clip or clamp attachments to hold items of clothing securely to the hanger. A popular lingerie hanger includes a simple one-piece construction and retains garments by means of spring action between cooperating shaped tongue elements at each end. Although adequate in many applications, the spring action alone is not always sufficient to retain garments. Furthermore, if the spring clip is designed to retain simultaneously a plurality of articles (or a single article of considerable thickness) it will then be unable to hold a single item or an item of significantly reduced thickness. Moreover, the weight of garments can often cause inadvertent release from me spring clip.
Garment hangers may additionally or alternatively utilise metal clips to provide reinforcement of plastic elements. These hangers can be complex to assemble and/or relatively expensive to produce.
Garment hangers with clips or clamps tend to require significant effort to open and close the clip, often requiring a two-handed operation. This can be a disadvantage in loading a garment onto a hanger, and moreover the garment may risk being damaged due to the force required to open or dose the clip or clamp.
Many garment hangers with clips or clamps rely on a retaining mechanism in the form of a hinge orientated to rotate about an axis in line with the longitudinal direction of the garment hanger. These garment hangers can be relatively expensive to produce, and are far from ideal for many applications, particularly in the case of lingerie hangers.
It is an object of this invention to provide a garment hanger that at least partially addresses one or more of the inconveniences of the prior art.
According to this invention there is provided a garment hanger including:
an elongate hanger bar with two opposed ends;
a suspension means connected to the elongate hanger bar for suspending the bar from a support;
a garment holding means at each opposed end for holding garments to the hanger, each said garment holding means including:
a first jaw associated with and extending from the elongate hanger bar;
a second jaw associated with and extending from said elongate hanger bar being pivotable about an axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongate hanger bar, such that the second jaw is selectively movable relative to the first jaw between a first position in which the garment can be introduced between the first and second jaws, and a second position in which the garment is held between the first and second jaws; and
locking means to selectively clamp the second jaw in the second position.
The invention will be disclosed herein with reference to the hanger in normal use, whereby the hanger is in a suspended orientation with the suspension means on the upper side of the elongate hanger bar of the hanger. Terms such as xe2x80x9cupwardxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cdownwardxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ctopxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cbottomxe2x80x9d should be construed in light of this throughout this specification and claims. It will be appreciated that the garment holding means at each end of the elongate hanger bar can be arranged in a variety of different orientations relative to the elongate hanger bar.
The garment hanger of the invention provides a significant advantage over the spring clip type lingerie hangers and clamp hangers of the prior art. More particularly, the locking end clamps provided by the garment holding means feature a mechanism that pivots outwardly, which greatly facilitates use of the hanger without involving significant cost implications. The invention affords the provision of a lightweight hanger which is able to effectively and reliably grip garments of a wider range of designs, thicknesses and weights, including multiple garments.
Preferably the first jaw is fixed in position relative to the hanger bar and the second jaw is moveable relative to the hanger bar between the first position and the second position. Further, the second jaw is positioned outwardly of the hanger bar relative to the first jaw such that movement of the second jaw relative to the first jaw is in an inward direction towards the first jaw. Movement of the second jaw in an outward direction away from the first jaw is preferably limited by the locking means. Preferably, movement of the locking means to clamp the second jaw in the second position moves the second jaw inward towards the first jaw.
In one preferred embodiment, the locking means extends from and is moveable relative to the elongate hanger bar to engage the second jaw. The locking is preferably integrally formed with the hanger bar having a flexible arm extending from the hanger bar with an end portion being engagable with the second jaw, whereby movement of the locking means is achieved by flexure of the flexible arm. A movement limiter associated with the hanger bar may be provided for limiting movement of the locking means relative to the hanger bar. Preferably the locking means cooperates with an outer edge of the second jaw, the locking means and outer edge of the second jaw being provided with complementary forms to positively engage when the second jaw is in the second position. It is preferred that the second jaw be formed integrally with the elongate hanger bar, having an integrally formed hinge portion about which the second jaw pivots relative to the first jaw. Further the second jaw is preferably prestressed to bias it towards the first position.
According to another preferred embodiment of the invention the locking means is formed separately from the elongate hanger bar being pivotally connected to the hanger bar. The locking means may be pivotally connected to the elongate hanger bar by means of a hinge pin extending from the hanger bar received by a hinge recess on the locking means. Guide means associated with the first and second jaw may be provided for guiding movement of the second jaw relative to the first jaw, The guide means preferably include a tongue projecting from the second jaw which is received by a guide track in the first jaw. A pivot limiter may be provided for limiting pivoting movement of the locking means, the pivot limiter having at least one pin extending transversely of the hanger bar being received in at least one elongate recess of the locking means. The locking means preferably cooperates with an outer edge of the second jaw, the locking means and outer edge of the second jaw being provided with complementary forms to positively engage when the second jaw is in the second position. Further, the second jaw is preferably formed integrally with the elongate hanger bar, having an integrally formed hinge portion about which the second jaw pivots relative to the first jaw. It is preferred that the second jaw be prestressed to bias it towards the first position.
According to further still another preferred embodiment of this invention the second jaw and locking means are integrally formed, the locking means being pivotally connected to the elongate hanger bar. It is preferred that the locking means be pivotally connected to the hanger bar by means of a hinge pin extending from the hanger bar received by a hinge recess on the locking means. The locking means may include a flexible bridging hinge element extending between the first and second jaws and having a two position bias corresponding to the first and second positions of the second jaw.